The massive human tragedy of September 11 compels me, as president
of the Foundation of Women Executives in Public Relations, to renew my
commitment to advocating education as it pertains to the future of our
industry. Recovery of this nation and the revitalization of its economy
will take place over the months, years, and decades ahead. But it won't
happen on its own, and it won't happen in a rational, convincing manner
without communications leaders and innovators.
Our immediate role as PR execs is to rebuild confidence through
communications programs that tell the stories of companies getting back
to business, philanthropic support for the recovery, and the many
efforts to restore investor, employee, and customer confidence. By its
very nature, what happened creates holes in that confidence.
Many of us have lived and worked through several national communications
crises, including the Kennedy/King assassinations, Vietnam, Watergate,
Columbine, and Oklahoma City, albeit none quite on the same level as the
World Trade Center horror. Throughout the previous crises,
communications training and leadership development opportunities were
plentiful. Paid internship programs, scholarships, and work-study
programs often covered most, if not all, tuition expenses and the growth
of corporate communications departments. While no one can dispute that
these educational areas are alive and well, the cost of entry into our
profession is getting higher, and the need to ensure that future leaders
have access to quality communications training is even greater.
The question now is what can we do:
Mentor young professionals. Sometimes the best learning happens
informally. Young professionals need to know that we care about them,
support their efforts, and believe in the future of our industry and our
country.
Identify future leaders inside and outside of your organization. We've
recently heard many question their career choice, and wonder why they
didn't go into one of the "helping professions" where they could have
been more "useful." We must assure future leaders about the validity of
their career choice, and show them how and why what we do makes a
difference.
Look ahead, and act with vision. Because of September 11, the
foundation carried on with our annual Awards for Social Responsibility
luncheon on October 24 at the Yale Club. Now more than ever, it's
important to honor and acknowledge the best of cause-related PR
campaigns, and to fund scholarships for college students interested in
pursuing PR careers.
